The week starts with you setting the tone of your head coach's weekly press conference and team meetings. You check out the scouting report on your next opponent, then decide what film needs to be watched by your coaches and players. If playing as the 49ers, for example, you can tell your assistant coaches to watch film of the opposing defensive backs, either by players or formations. You can then bring in individual players like Brandon Lloyd to watch film on a specific corner, or you can bring in your entire wide receiver corps. You then train this group or player through exercise/training programs to help increase their attributes. You can even choose whether or not you want to give your players a day off. Everything you do not only takes time off of the clock, but affects player attribute points. Heading into a week where you know you'll need a big passing game, you can actually increase a player like B-Lloyd's attributes by up to six points. Don't give him a day off, and yeah, he might be able to train more, but he could also become more fatigued during Sunday's game. If you're not into micromanagement, you can simply setup the week ahead of time and simulate all of the actions at once. Otherwise, it's up to you who trains for what and when, and how that will affect next week's game. At the end of the preparations, you'll see a results page showing the attribute gains of your players throughout the week. And if you think this won't affect gameplay, imagine the difference between a player with a rating of 90 versus a 96, or even an 80 to an 86. This preparation will affect each and every game you play in Franchise, and is a refreshing take on a subject that's been mostly ignored to this point.

The second Franchise addition is a visual simulator. Think ESPN's Gamecast Live with a video game twist. 49er ball, run, pass, run, punt. You can watch what happens in a speedy simulation, meanwhile adjusting your sliders to affect the game. If you don't like how the computer is controlling your team, or if it's the last drive of the game and you need a touchdown, you can then jump in and play the remainder of the contest. The producer of the game still wasn't sure if you'd be able to jump back into the Gamecast once you start to play, but it's an issue they're working on.

The third improvement to Franchise comes in the name of contract signings. You can now finally setup contracts on a year-per-year basis, even including signing bonuses into the mix to make this portion of the game more realistic. This will also enable virtual owners and GM's the ability to try and manipulate the salary cap more toward their advantage, back-loading contracts so that you can sign that one free agent who could potentially lead your team to Super Bowl glory.

And while all of the improvements to Franchise are exciting, if the gameplay itself wasn't worth playing, all you'd be left with is one of those "looks good on paper" teams. Luckily for gamers, it looks like ESPN NFL 2005 is poised to play at the same high-quality as its list of features.

The biggest new gameplay addition is Maximum Tackle. If you hold the tackle button, your player will attempt a textbook wrap-up. Tap the button, however, and you'll unload with a dynamic hit, blasting the ball carrier toward the turf and increasing the chances for injuries and fumbles. This will enable fast-fingered defenders to even combo the tackle, wrapping up the runner with his first player, then switching defenders and fly in for the fiercer blow. Maximum Tackle is a two-sided feature, however, as it also works for the ball carrier, in the all new, "you're never down until you're down" scenario (not that we needed any more broken tackles after last year, but ESPN Videogames promises they're working on the issue). The Maximum Tackle broken tackles are more of players stumbling out from defender's grasps then either breaking free or falling facemask first. It should lead to more seamless blends of broken tackles, and not the free-for-all that was the 2004 game.

Speaking of running with the ball, the game will also feature all-new run animations, including spins, jukes, cuts, and plants. Forget the days of the joystick jockey running full speed to the left, then breaking back right without slowing down. This season, you'll actually see as a player plants his foot, then cuts back the other direction, slowing down just like a real runner would. The dynamic weather will also become more of a factor, as it's easy for a guy like Clinton Portis to make his cut on dry turf, but if he tries to make too harsh of a cut in the snow or rain, he might end up falling on his ass.